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<title>When The Crowd Is Gone by Eustacia Vye (eustaciavye)</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25346758">When The Crowd Is Gone</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/eustaciavye/pseuds/Eustacia%20Vye'>Eustacia Vye (eustaciavye)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Inception Bingo 2020 [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Inception (2010)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 06:46:49</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,037</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25346758</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/eustaciavye/pseuds/Eustacia%20Vye</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"You can be careful for only so long before you're found out."</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Ariadne/Arthur (Inception), Ariadne/Eames (Inception)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Inception Bingo 2020 [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1834918</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Inception Trope/Kink Bingo 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>When The Crowd Is Gone</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>For the "kiss of distraction" square in Inception Bingo.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Arthur was somewhere in world, Ariadne didn't even know exactly where he'd gone. He had mentioned Johannesburg, but that was only a pit stop before his final destination. Ariadne was still in Paris, enjoying her usual routines, and planned to introduce a little more color and sculpture to the living room before he returned. He was slowly unbending on the rather impersonal décor that he had in his apartment. <i>Their</i> apartment. She had lived with him for several months now, and it was far more spacious and luxurious than her tiny garret apartment had been.</p><p>She did her shopping, the daily amount of foodstuffs and the bouquet of flowers for the side table to add another splash of color in the living room. She was quite proud of it, lots of vibrant color that she was planning to use as inspiration for her latest work project.</p><p>Eames fell into step beside her as she walked through the open air market. "Hullo, love," he murmured. "Don't turn and look, but you've been followed for a while."</p><p>Ariadne's breath caught. "That sounds ominous."</p><p>"Let's just say that our mutual friend is in very deep trouble."</p><p>She wanted to stop and look around, but that was asking for her tail to either escalate or run back into the shadows. "Do you know who it is?"</p><p>"Following you today? Yes. Unfortunately, he's very good at what he does."</p><p>"Which is?"</p><p>"Leaving very bloody messages for people in our line of work."</p><p>Blowing out a frustrated breath, she nodded in the direction of another area in the market. "I was heading there."</p><p>"Mustn't forget the bread," Eames remarked. Though his expression didn't change, his tone wasn't light at all. It sent chills down her spine, and reminded her just how deadly he could be if he put his mind to it.</p><p>"Why am I being followed, then? Arthur was very careful."</p><p>Eames sighed and shook his head sadly. "You can be careful for only so long before you're found out."</p><p>The chill was down her spine again. "How do we stop him, then."</p><p>"Love, you don't stop men like that. You put them into the ground in pieces."</p><p>Ariadne sighed herself. "I don't like being a damsel in distress."</p><p>"Understood. One of the many things I love about you."</p><p>"Eames," she began in a warning tone.</p><p>"Oh, you know how I feel," he protested, taking the flowers out of her hands. "Quite lovely. A very excellent choice."</p><p>"I'm with Arthur."</p><p>"Yes, he knows how I feel as well." Eames was rather nonchalant about it. "I would never try to break the two of you apart. You look adorable together, really. And he hasn't been as crafty as he thinks he is, hence my hanging about to keep an eye on you. And good thing I did."</p><p>"You know," she began slowly, "I only have your word for it that I'm being followed."</p><p>He laughed, an airy sound that didn't seem offended at all. "Good. You should feel paranoid."</p><p>"This isn't funny," she said, stopping short to glare at him. "That's not something you joke about, Eames."</p><p>"No, it isn't. And by the by, my current nom de guerre is actually Jason Duckworth." He waited as Ariadne snorted and rolled his eyes. "Your shadow knows that name and is rather cautious about tangling with him."</p><p>Ariadne narrowed her eyes at him. "So what is it that you're planning, Eames? Because I know you have a plan. You wouldn't do all this without something in mind."</p><p>Eames shot her a lascivious grin. "Quite right, I do. I fear you won't like it."</p><p>He grasped her in his arms and kissed her thoroughly, stubble rough and scratching against her chin. Ariadne gasped, mouth opening. She wanted to say it was shock and outrage, but he was a fantastic kisser, and she could feel her toes curling inside her sneakers. Oh, but his boasts had some truth to back it up after all.</p><p>She struggled to catch her breath when he let go of her, making him smirk. <i>"Mon Dieu,"</i> she murmured, looking at him in shock. Should she slap him?</p><p>"Quite the boost to my ego, darling," he said, grinning and sounding satisfied with himself. His eyes darted behind her, his posture now intimidating even though he hadn't moved, and Eames nodded briskly without breaking eye contact with whoever he was looking at.</p><p>After a moment, his posture eased, and he gave her a charming smile. "Thanks ever so much for not slapping me silly, by the way," he said as he took her free hand and tucked it into the crook of his arm.</p><p>"Who were you planning to distract? Him or me?"</p><p>"Both?" he asked, laughing a little.</p><p>"What was the point in that?" she demanded, curling her fingers to dig into his arm through his jacket and shirt. He winced, making her feel a little vindicated.</p><p>"I essentially staked a claim. He'll think twice about trying to kill you."</p><p>She let out an unsteady breath. "I'm going to tell Arthur."</p><p>"Of course."</p><p>"About the kiss," she clarified.</p><p>Eames grinned. "Of course. I did get his permission, you know."</p><p>Ariadne stared at him incredulously. "What?!"</p><p>"I ran my plan by him. He wasn't pleased, obviously, but thought it was a sound plan. He's capable of taking care of himself, but you're an unknown quantity. For the both of us to lay in a claim, so to speak, it puts you firmly in both our spheres of protection."</p><p>"That's terrible," she said, shaking her head as he directed her toward the bread.</p><p>"It's an unfortunate side effect of our business. You're not really in it, so you're considered fair game. Collateral damage, so to speak."</p><p>She glowered at him. "I am <i>not</i> collateral damage."</p><p>"I know that. Arthur knows that. Some of the even less savory groups out there don't know that."</p><p>"I'm still telling Arthur."</p><p>"I would expect no less."</p><p>She pressed her lips together. "I'll make you dinner as thank you. We'll call Arthur and tell him everything together."</p><p>Eames smiled broadly as he maneuvered her through the crowds. As long as Ariadne was safe, his efforts would all be worth it.</p>
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